Watch: SDLP MP Colum Eastwood says the Derry and Strabane City Deal is an 'investment jump start'

The Foyle MP spoke during the City Deal signing ceremony in Derry’s Guildhall on Wednesday, this marked the culmination of a long SDLP led campaign to secure critical investment in the city.

Colum Eastwood MP said: “This is a significant day for Derry and the North West. The SDLP has been campaigning for City Deal investment here for a decade against the odds and sometimes against the wishes of Executive Ministers. When others couldn't, we saw the potential of leveraging this level of investment and the long term impact it could have on our ambition for growth, university expansion and opportunities for people across Derry and the North West.

“For too long we’ve been asked to live on hope alone but it’s not enough. People need good jobs, better opportunities and sustained investment to achieve their ambitions.

“Today we are turning the page on a story of underinvestment in our city that has lasted for decades. And this is just the start. We’ve secured Irish Government investment in Magee, City Deal investment in the medical school, an NDNA commitment to 10,000 student places at a minimum. After decades of being overlooked, this is the beginning of Derry’s fightback.

“The City Deal won’t transform things overnight but it can, and it must, be a jump start for investment in people, skills, good jobs and better opportunities.

“People here know what it’s like to have to fight for every penny of investment. At the weekend I was fighting again to get our City Deal back on track. And I am going to keep fighting to make sure that people in this city have the opportunities to realise their ambitions in the same way that people in other cities across Ireland can.”

The deal aims to bring over 6000 new jobs by 2033 and an investment of £290 million, into Derry and Strabane.